2G 2G tail lights and cluster stopped working

[AZmocoLoco]

Im getting my car buttoned back up for boost season but ran into something I haven't been able to figure out.

While performing a pre drive walk around, I witnessed my tail lights fade away until the point where they were completely off and inoperable, then noticed my cluster was out as well. Blinkers, reverse, headlight, fog lights, interior courtesy lights all work. I checked all fuses, relays, and swapped them around with known good and had no change. I swapped my courtesy dimmer switch, and my steering combination switch with no change. What could have caused the lights to FADE away like that? Am I missing a relay or circuit somewhere? Could a bad bulb cause the cluster lights issue as well? Help much appreciated!

 

[Sirius1995]

Sounds like fusebox issue to me, one in the drivers legspace, I would skrew it out and see if it's corroded or burn or something, maybe harness got un-plugged?

 

[AZmocoLoco]

I checked all the bulbs in the back and they are all good. I noticed my front side markers are not working as well.

Sounds like fusebox issue to me, one in the drivers legspace, I would skrew it out and see if it's corroded or burn or something, maybe harness got un-plugged?

I was messing with wires in that area. I’ll give it another look around. Thank you.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

It doesn't look like those lights are connected to the cluster in any way besides sharing the same fuse panel.

Here's a copy of the factory wiring diagram:
https://procarmanuals.com/pdf-online-mitsubishi-eclipse-1997-electrical-wiring-diagrams/

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[chrysler kid]

The brakelight fuse under the hood also has the interior lights on the circuit

On my 2g one of the harnesses for the rear lights was pinched against metal where the tail lights bolt to the body causing it to short and take all of my lights out when the brake light fuse popped

 

[AZmocoLoco]

It doesn't look like those lights are connected to the cluster in any way besides sharing the same fuse panel.

Here's a copy of the factory wiring diagram:
https://procarmanuals.com/pdf-online-mitsubishi-eclipse-1997-electrical-wiring-diagrams/

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The wiring diagrams stopped at 4-13. 4-20 is the section that I need . Thanks for the help.

The brakelight fuse under the hood also has the interior lights on the circuit

On my 2g one of the harnesses for the rear lights was pinched against metal where the tail lights bolt to the body causing it to short and take all of my lights out when the brake light fuse popped

I’ll check it out. Thank you for the help.

 

[luv2rallye]

Download the Circuit Diagrams here: https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/2g-1997-1999-dsm-electrical-factory-service-manual.517369/. Then look at page 71 for contents.

 

[AZmocoLoco]

Download the Circuit Diagrams here: https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/2g-1997-1999-dsm-electrical-factory-service-manual.517369/. Then look at page 71 for contents.

thank you for the link on the schematic. i think i am going to start with connector B69 on the fuse junction box (since the relays were swapped with known good relays & fuses). something tells me its not pushed in all the way. if all is good there, i will start from the back with the license plate lights, verify no broken wires and work my way forward. i went through the schematic and wrote down all possible smoking guns, so i will check them little by little... after i rip the interior out again (rear driver quarter panel at least to hit B72p1 reading back). if none of that works out, i will use my combination switch from my Mirage (known good switch) and start over again.
i will check the following connectors for continuity:
E-25p3 to E-23p1
E-25p3 to E-24p1
E-25p2 to E-23p2
E25p2 to E-24p2
B-72p1 to E-31p2/p3
B-72p1 to E-26p6.

i will update once i get more info. thanks again guys! we will find this.

 

[chrysler kid]

I did it the opposite way

I had a bunch of fuses and unplugged the exterior lights and put a new fuse back in. Then I turned on the parking lights and I went around and started plugging in the exterior light harnesses back in until the fuse popped

 

[AZmocoLoco]

I did it the opposite way

I had a bunch of fuses and unplugged the exterior lights and put a new fuse back in. Then I turned on the parking lights and I went around and started plugging in the exterior light harnesses back in until the fuse popped

my fuses were all good as far as I can tell. I swapped them all with known good and everything was good with the spots I swapped the suspected fuses & relays with. But I see what you’re saying. Maybe I’ll take a swing at that after I see all my wiring is good. Thanks!

 

[luv2rallye]

When did the taillights fade and does it still do it?

It's extremely rare but one person once reported he had a taillight bulb's internal 2 filaments shorted which caused bizarre behavior. Just to eliminate that you might try removing one at a time to see effect.

 

[chrysler kid]

my fuses were all good as far as I can tell. I swapped them all with known good and everything was good with the spots I swapped the suspected fuses & relays with. But I see what you’re saying. Maybe I’ll take a swing at that after I see all my wiring is good. Thanks!

It could be your dimmer switch is bad, a few years ago I found that when the dimmer failed it had the same symptoms. If you search you can see how to bypass the switch, if i recall correctly you can just put a jumper wire into the harness connector to bypass the dimmer switch itself. If it has lost internal connection the switch wont provide power to the rest of the circuit

Honestly the dimmer switch wiring and tail light shorts are probably some of the biggest reasons I can get a cheap 2g project car. There are also typically bad battery drains in older cars that contributes to owners selling them cheap

In this thread I show how I found my short and was blowing the fuse. You might just want to bypass the dimmer switch and check the lights again

https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/2g-tail-light-fuse.515685/

 

[AZmocoLoco]

i checked again and found the stupid fuse in the engine bay blown. it was the 15a blue fuse. i replaced the fuse and still had no tail lights. i suspected i pinched a wire when reinstalling my custom 3rd brake light after installing my reverse camera. i banged on the 3rd brake (center section of the tail lights that reads "eclipse") and everything started working again in the tail section! the running lights, and license plate light are back on and running as should be. the front side markers are working as well. but the cluster lights are not working still.
so the problem went from 1 to 2
1: tailights, license plate lights, side markers, cluster not working
2: cluster not working

im going to pull the brake light housings off and see if there is anything pinched i can fix. if not, ill pull the custom 3rd brake light (which is an LED light and has been in the car since 2018) and see if its causing issues.

thanks for the support!

 

[AZmocoLoco]

little update: i pulled the 3rd brake and sure enough i jammed a set screw right through the power line of my custom 3rd brake light. I repaired it, and its all good to go. the back is working fine. i replaced the front side marker bulbs and those are working fine as well. still no cluster lights. i noticed the ash tray light does work, but some of the lights arent. heres a list of whats going on
1) lights working
front: headlights (bright and dim), fog lights, front turn signals, front side markers,
rear: tail lights, reverse lights, rear turn and brake signals, license plate light, custom 3rd brake light
interior: rear space, windshield mirror, glove box, courtesy lights, ash tray, (sun roof works as well)
2) lights not working: cluster, climate control, key ignition, cigarette lighter, hazards (the switch will turn the hazards turn on when selected, but the actual hazard switch light is not illuminated in the dash)
3) lights not checked: cruise control/fog light/ mirror adjuster switches (currently removed due to troubleshooting. the cluster lights didnt work before pulling the switch, but i didnt think to actually check if the switch lights were working before. i can just plug them back in and check it out).

going to look into this more in the morning with some help.

thanks.

 

[AZmocoLoco]

FOUND THE PROBLEM

The yellow wire under the steering column had a bad splice on it. I redid the wire and everything (except the key ignition light, which I don’t think has ever worked, or does this only work when the car is running?) is back to normal!

Now it’s time for a detail, and a stereo install. Boost season is among us!

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